It was a tale of two halves for the Northfield football team Friday, falling behind 21-0 before rallying back and being 18 yards in the third quarter from tying things up in a 28-14 loss to South Adams.

South Adams would take the first possession of the game, attacking the Norse line with runs up the middle and to the right, marching 65 yards down the field in less than four minutes to take a quick 8-0 lead. After forcing a Norse punt on their first possession the Starfires would go again. With the ball on their own 27, South Adams would mount a 10 play drive, punching it in with 1:19 on the clock and led 14-0 at quarters end.

Still having trouble moving the ball, the Norse were forced to punt two plays in to the second quarter. On Northfield’s second possession of the quarter the Norse were forced to punt and South Adams would take advantage of good field position. The Starfires would start on the 34 and six plays later led 21-0 on a 16 yard run with 4:39 left in the half. Needing a score desperately, the Norse would catch a break on their next possession. After being forced to punt, the receiver would attempt a running catch that bounced off his chest with Bryce Kendall getting the recovery on the South Adams 16. One play later quarterback Drake Richter found Carter Frieden for a 16 yard scoring strike and the Norse trailed 21-7 at the half.

The Norse would come out of the half and dominate the third quarter. After a Jackson Beery punt to the South Adams 11 the Starfires were on a drive when Josh Bickel picked off a pass on the 13, taking it to the 25. The Norse would then consume most of the quarter with a clock eating drive. Richter would connect with Frieden to the 34 with Bickel taking the next snap to the 42. After runs from Alec Wells and Richter took the ball to the 46, a pass interference call put the ball on the 31. Looking like the drive was going to stall after a sack the Norse faced 4th and 23 when Richter found Marcus Kroh to the South Adams 13 for a first down. Two plays later Richter and Frieden hooked up again and the Norse trailed 21-14 with 29.6 on the clock. Catching the Starfires off guard, the Norse executed an onside kick with Joseph Mitchell recovering.

Mounting a drive from the third quarter onside kick, the Norse would have the ball on the South Adams18 when they fumbled and the Starfires recovering. South Adams would take advantage of the turn over, marching down the field in 11 plays, scoring with 5:17 remaining to take a 28-14 lead that the Norse could never recover from.

Drake Richter was 10 of 21 for 131 yards, 2TD’s. The Norse had just 88 yards on the ground. Leading the way was Josh Bickel with 39. Alec Wells added 11, Shane Vigar 2, Jarred Short 2. Carter Frieden had 3 catches for 39 yards, 2TD. Marcus Kroh had 2 for 45, Josh Bickel 1 for 22, Shane Vigar 2 for 12, Alec Wells 1 for 13.